Environmental Photography Award 2027 is now open for entries!
The Environmental Photography Award 2026 recently opened for entries, invites photographers from around the world to submit images that celebrate the beauty of our planet and illustrate the different relationships human beings have with nature, whether destructive or regenerative.
Short description
The Environmental Photography Award 2027 is an international photography competition launched in 2021 by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation to reward photographers annually for their efforts to raise awareness of environmental protection, celebrating the beauty of our planet through five categories: Polar Regions, Forests, Ocean, Humanity vs Nature and Changemakers.
The Award aims to celebrate the incredible beauty of our planet and illustrate the different relationships that human beings have with nature – whether destructive or regenerative. Approximately 10,000 images are received each year, and the Award has become a flagship awareness-raising event for the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and one of the three pillars of its Green Shift initiative, dedicated to promoting inspiring environmental storytelling.
The 5 categories:
➜ Polar Regions – landscapes, wildlife and local communities in the Arctic and Antarctic polar regions, illustrated as pristine areas to be preserved
➜ Forests – images highlighting the beauty of the flora and fauna that make up forest ecosystems
➜ Ocean – marine environments and the need to protect them
➜ Humanity vs Nature – the conflicting relationship between humans and nature and the negative impact of human activities on the environment
➜ Changemakers – the efforts and actions implemented globally by communities and organisations that help build a more sustainable world and a more harmonious relationship between man and nature
An international jury of professional photographers selects the 36 finalists and, for each of the five categories, a winning image and 2 runners-up. The jury then chooses the grand prize winner, Environmental Photographer 2027, among the category winners. A Public Award and a Students' Choice Award are also presented. The shortlisted images forming the exhibition and book are announced in March 2027; the grand prize winner, category winners, Public Award winner and Students' Choice winner are announced in April 2027.
An exhibition takes place in Monaco in June or July 2027, and the Award's exhibitions have already travelled to Italy, San Marino, Spain, the United States, Canada and France. A bilingual (French-English) hardcover book is published for each edition, including all the shortlisted photographs, accompanied by explanatory texts.
Eligibility
The Award is global and open to photographers of all nationalities aged 18 or over by the entry deadline.
Benefits
➜ 1,000 € grant for each of the 5 category winners
➜ 5,000 € grant for the Environmental Photographer 2026, assigned to one of the 5 category winners in addition to the category grant
➜ 500 € grant for the Public Award winning image, plus an invitation (including travel and accommodation) to visit the Amazon Research Station of the International University SEK in Ecuador
➜ 500 € grant for the Students' Choice winning image
The Public Award and the Students' Choice Award will be voted for online, starting on 30 March 2026, for a period of two weeks. The exhibitions of the Award have already travelled to Italy, San Marino, Spain, the United States, Canada and France, and a book is published every year.
Entry fees
Entry is completely free; photographers may submit up to 5 images in each of the 5 categories, for a maximum of 25 images in total.
